


Date Night

by somegunemojis



Series: Tender Mercies [1]
Category: Original Content
Genre: Babysitting, Familial Affection, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:07:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26095369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somegunemojis/pseuds/somegunemojis
Summary: Reminding a girl that it's okay to love.
Relationships: Bettino Tahan & Vivienne Sauvettere
Series: Tender Mercies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1893175
Kudos: 1





	Date Night

**Author's Note:**

> Vivienne is seeing a rich guy and Bettino the baby communist handles this about as well as any little brother could

December 2002 -- Verona, Italia

On the floor in front of her sofa, a kaleidoscope of color plays across his sketchbook from the cartoons playing quietly on the television, laid open to a blank page across his knee. That same blank page has been there for an hour, the tip of his pencil perched as if to draw his first line. His hand is starting to cramp from how long he’s been still, but he can’t quite get his mind to connect with his fingers-- his mind drifts aimlessly, first focused on all the possibilities of what to draw, then on the tendons of his hand, and now staring at the light shining from the crack under the bathroom door. Sirus had tired of his inattention a while ago and toddled off to find his mother. 

The nineteen year old girl steps out of her bedroom, barefoot, her dress half-zipped, adjusting one fancy looking earring and trying not to knock her toddling son over as he clings to her knee. Her hair and her makeup are carefully done, though it seems like if she lets herself get anymore stressed in the moment, she might puff up like a songbird and ruin the way the curls lay perfectly against her neck. He closes his sketchbook and sets it off to the side, darting over to chase the boy off before casually reaching over and finishing the zip on her dress. “You look nice,” he laughs, as she turns to fix him with a glare, finally finished fussing with her earring. 

“Empty flattery isn’t going to get me to leave you an extra twenty for dinner tonight, Bettino.” He makes a half-hearted noise of protest, sweeping Sirus into his arms and then trailing along behind her to the door. “Remember, I’ll be back by midnight, if anything happens–”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get my entrails fed to me.” He laughs, adjusting his grip on the forty pounds of squirming child.

She tucks her feet into a pair of kitten heels, and fixes him with a look. “ _No_ , if anything happens, just call me. Okay?” 

“Yes, I have your phone number, and I would love nothing more than to interrupt your date with the rich weirdo.” Vivienne rolls her eyes at the familiar, meaningless jab, turning around and putting her hand on the doorknob. “Hey! Wait, aren’t you forgetting something?”

She freezes, and then turns back to him, some of the stress creeping back into her features. “No? What would I be forgetting, I have everything–”

Bettino tips his head to Sirus meaningfully. The boy is sucking on his sleeve, and he has to carefully pull his hand away from his face with a grimace at how tacky the fabric is. “Goodbye kiss?” 

Her mouth goes flat, vibrant red pressed to thin lines. The look she gives him is so utterly cold and blank that he thinks, just for a moment, she might snap at him, but after a few seconds of deliberation she tucks a dainty hand around the back of Sirus’ head and kisses him on the temple. Bettino grins, and then cringes when, with a smirk, she grabs him by the nape of the neck and presses a soft kiss to his cheek as well. Twin lipstick marks bestowed, Vivienne draws away as he splutters uselessly at her. “You, behave.” He’s not sure who the order is for.

As she steps out the door, he follows along, laughing a little bit. “I hope you get lipstick smeared in your teeth, witch!” As she hurries to her date, he thinks he can hear a quiet laugh in response.


End file.
